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Canadian  Institute  for  Historical  Microreproductions  /  Institut  Canadian  de  microteproductions  historiques 


1981 


Technical  and  Bibliographic  Notes/Notes  techniques  et  bibliographiques 


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D 
D 
D 
D 
D 
D 
D 
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IPX  14X 18X 22X 

7 


26X 


30X 


12X 


16X 


20X 


24X 


28X 


32X 


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L'exemplaire  filmd  fut  reprodult  grdce  d  la 
g6n6rosit6  de: 

La  bibliothdque  des  Archives 
publiques  du  Canada 

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fllmage. 

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par  le  premier  plat  et  en  terminant  soit  par  la 
dernidre  page  qui  comporte  une  empreinte 
d'impression  o\>  d'illustration,  soit  par  le  second 
plat,  salon  le  cas.  Tous  les  autres  exemplaires 
originaux  sont  filmds  en  commengant  par  la 
premidre  page  qui  comporte  une  empreinte 
d'impression  ou  d'illustration  et  en  terminant  par 
la  dernidre  page  qui  comporte  une  telle 
empreinte. 

Un  des  symboles  suivants  apparaitra  sur  la 
dernidre  image  de  cheque  microfiche,  selon  le 
cas:  le  symbole  — ►  signifie  "A  SUIVRE",  le 
symbols  V  signifie  "FIN". 

Les  cartes,  planches,  tableaux,  etc.,  peuvent  dtre 
filmds  d  des  taux  de  reduction  diffdrents. 
Lorsque  le  document  est  trop  grand  pour  dtre 
reprodult  en  un  seul  ';lich6,  il  est  filmd  d  partir 
de  Tangle  supdrieur  gauche,  de  gauche  d  droite, 
et  de  haut  en  bas,  en  prenant  le  nombre 
d'images  ndcessaire.  Les  diagrammes  suivants 
illustrent  la  mdthode. 


1 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

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A-^       ^ 


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^ANAI^AIM    PACIFIC    RAILWAY  AGGRESSIONS  ^ 


^"^      v>^      UPON   AMERICAN  COMMERCE. 


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/9 


A.    LETTER       ^ 


uV 


ADDRKSSKD  TO  Mr.  lOSBPH 


Mu,    r. 


WM.  C.  VAN  HORNE, 

Pycs,idcnt  of  the   Cimadiiui  Pacific    Raikuny^ 


AND 


Mr.  NIMMO'S  REPLY. 


— \-^^*- 


WASHINGTON,  D.  C. 

GinsoN  Bros.,  Pkinters  and  Bookmnders. 

18S9. 


S.4L4(> 


Letter  Addressed  to  Mr.   Joseph  Nimmo,  Jr.,  by 

Wm.  C.  Van  Home,  Esq.,  President  of  Canadian 

Pacific  Railway  Company. 


i\rAi;cii  '11,  1S8<). 

My  Deak  Sir  :  I  assnmo  that  in  coiuiiunitiii.u;  upon  the 
reliitions  and  policy  of  the  Canadian  Paeirtc  Railway  Coni- 
panv  you  are  actuated  only  by  a  desin^  to  i)roiiiot('  tlu! 
public  sood,  and  I  therefore  venturi;  to  write  you  to  cor- 
rect some  misapprehensions  under  which  you  nre  lahor- 
inii;,  if  you  are  quoted  correctly  in  the  enclosed  clipping 
from  a  (■]iica|.';o  newspnper. 

The  Canadian  Pacific  Railway  Company,  although  orig- 
inally subsidized  by  the  Dominion  goveriinicnt,  hos  no 
closer  relation  to  that  government  than  the  Raltimor(>  A- 
Ohio  Raihvay  has  to  the  Government  of  the  United 
States. 

It  borrowed  money  once  or  twice  from  the  Dominion 
government  to  enable  it  to  complete  its  work,  but  the 
money  was  paid  back  wit}\  interest. 

It  is  in  receipt  of  no  subsidy  or  assistance  from  the 
Dominion  government  beyond  the  usual  com])ensation  for 
the  carriage  of  mails,  save  only  an  annual  ]iaym(uit  for  a, 
term  of  years  in  respect  of  a  line  connecting  with  the  Mari- 
time Provinces  and  which  came  to  the  Canadian  Pacific 
by  purchase. 

The  steamships  on  the  Pacific  working  in  connection 
■with  the  raihvay  have  no  subsidy  whatever  from  any  (fov- 
ernment,  and  do  not  even  get  anything  for  carrying  mails. 

The  "  States  to  States"  traffic  carried  by  the  Canadian 
Pacific  Railway,  tluit  is,  business  from  one  section  of  the 
United  States  to  another,  does  not  contri1)ute  four  ptu- 
cent,  to  its  earnings. 

Much  of  what  has  appeared  in  the  American  press  al)out 


I 


tlio  Canadian  Pacific  Raihvay  for  a  year  or  two  lm(;k  has 
resulted  from  its  having  boon  usod  as  a  biighcar  by  tlio 
Anu)ri(;an  linos  in  opposing  the  Interstate  Commerce  Act 
and  in  seeking  to  evade  its  enfcn-cement. 

The  freqnently  publisluMl  stat(iment  that  it  attackcnl  the 
other  Pacific  lines  is  absolutely  untrue.  Tluur  difhculties 
commenced  six  months  before  the  C-anadian  Pacific  was 
opened  for  trafiic.  The  trans-continental  rate  war  was 
brought  about  by  the  withdrawal  of  the  subsidy  to  the 
Pacific  Mail  Ste.amship  Company,  that  had  for  a  number 
of  years  been  paid  by  the  rail  lines.  This  occurrinl  in 
December,  1885,  and  the  Canadian  Pacific  was  not  opened 
for  traffic  until  July,  1886. 

The  Canadian  Pacific  Railway  was  built  for  cash  by 
those  who  intended  to  hold  and  work  it.  The  amount 
contributed  by  the  Government  towards  its  construction 
was,  as  compared  with  the  vast  capital  invested,  almost 
insignificant.  There  were  no  profits  taken  out  by  credit 
raobiliers  or  construction  companies.  No  sleeping-car, 
telegraph,  express,  or  other  companies  of  that  kind  absorb 
the  profits  from  its  working.  Its  success  is  due  to  the  fact 
that  no  private  interests  are  fed  at  the  expense  of  its  share- 
holders and  that  it  has  only  to  pay  intt^rest  on  capital  ac- 
tually invested. 

It  is  a  strictly  commercial  enterprise,  depending  upon 
its  own  resources,  and  worked,  as  I  beHeve,  on  sound  busi- 
ness principles. 

All  of  the  facts  that  I  have  stated  may  be  easily  verified, 
and  I  have  given  them  to  you  in  order   that  all  you  may 
write  may  be  as  infallible  as  your  statistics. 
Yours  very  truly, 

W.  C.  VAN  HORNE, 

President. 

Joseph  Nimmo,  Esq., 

W((s/tlngion,  D.  G. 


$ 


4 


Mr.  Nimmo's  Reply  to  Wm.  C.  Van  Home,  President 
of  the  Canadian  Pacific  Railway  Co. 


1831  F  Street  N.W., 
AVasiiington,  1).  C,  April  12,  1889. 

Wm.  C.  Van  Horne,  Esq., 

President  of  the  Canadian  Pacific  Railway  Co. 

Dear  Str  :  I  have  the  honor  to  acknowloclge  the  receipt 
of  your  letter  of  the  27tli  ult.  enclosing  an  article  of  mine 
in  regard  to  (Canadian  Pacific  Railway  aggressions  upon 
American  commerce,  which  article  appeared  in  the  Chicago 
Times  of  the  18tli  of  March.  To  the  statements  made  in 
this  article  you  object.  Your  letter  relates  entirel}-^  to 
matters  which  have  coiumanded  my  attention  in  the  public 
discussion  of  topics  of  a  political  nature  touching  "  our 
Canadian  Eelationships."  I  maintain  that  whenever  a  man 
discusses  a  public  question  he  is  morally  bound  not  only 
to  state  the  facts  upon  which  his  argument  rests,  but  also 
to  make  known  the  motives  by  Avhich  he  is  actuated. 
Holding  myself  amenable  to  this  rule,  I  regard  your  ])olite 
letter  as  a  perfectly  proper  demand  for  such  a  statement. 

The  political  character  of  the  Canadian  Pacific  Railway 
is  impressed  upon  my  mind  by  the  following  facts  :  The 
enterprise  had  its  inception  in  purely  political  considera- 
tions, which  were  first  publicly  announced  in  Canada  and 
in  England  during  the  terribh?  civil  war  which  raged  in  this 
country  from  18G1  to  18(55.  In  1802  Sir  Edward  Bulwer 
Lytton  advocatinl  the  construction  of  an  inter-oceanic 
railway  across  British  North  America,  upon  the  floor  of 
the  British  Parliament,  "  for  imperial  interests,  commercial 


6 


;iiul  ])()liti('fil,"  juid  in  IHfin  tlu;  Dnko  of  Nowcnstlts  tlion  a 
mi'iiilM'r  (»f  tlic  IJritiwh  ('jibiiKil,  ilccl.ircd  in  the  Hoiist;  of 
Lords  tliJit  siicli  a  raiUvay  wonM  snlistu-vt;  iniportiint  ends 
"  in  the  event  of  war  on  tlie  otlier  sido  of  tlie  Atlantii;." 
Sir  J^'.dwai'd  \\  .  Watkin,  at  one  tinu;  president  of  the 
(irand  Trnnk  liailwav,  and  foi'  nianv  years  a  mendx-r  of 
tli(^  Hritisli  Parliament,  strennously  advocated  tlu?  seliemo 
ill  eoiiiiection  with  "  a  line  of  mihtary  ])osts  of  strenj^th 
and  uiaj^nitude,  hei^inniny;  at  Halifax  on  the  Athmtic  and 
endin}^  on  tln^  Paeitic." 

Th(>  (;onstruetion  of  tho  Intercolonial  and  the  Canadian 
Pacilii^  llailways  wen;  at  th(>  bej^inninfj;  nv}i;ed  mainly  n])on 
pohtieal  fvrounds,  the  object  liad  in  view  luvin^'  to  hrin;^' 
into  eh)ser  cojnmercial  a'  d  i)olitical  relaticmships  the  four 
wMely-separated  lialiitahh;  and  inhabited  bhjcks  of  terri- 
tory (•om[)osin|u;  the  Dominion  of  Canada,  viz.,  the  Mari- 
tinu!  Provinces,  the  ProvincH'^  of  Ontario  aiid  Quebec, 
Manitoba  and  British  Cohunbia,  and  in  so  far  as  possible 
to  r(Mi(h'r  them  indejienchmt  of  trade  relations  with  the 
Ignited  States,  witli  whicli  country  they  are  much  more 
closely  related  by  g(>ographical  contiguity  than  witli  each 
other.  Those  four  sec+ljns  of  the  Dominion  were  politi- 
cally united  by  the  British  North  American  act  of  July  1, 
18()7.  Lord  LansdoAvne,  late  Governor-General  of  Can- 
ada, said  in  1885,  "  Confederation  without  the  railway 
was  not  worth  the  pa])er  u[)on  which  the  British  North 
American  act  was  written." 

As  the  result  of  an  issue  arising  in  the  inauguration  of 
this  great  political  enterprise,  Sir  John  A.  McDonald  and 
his  ])arty  went  out  of  j)ower  on  the  Otli  of  Noveml)er,  LS78, 
but  on  the  l()th  of  October,  1878,  they  returned  to  power, 
and  have  held  the  reins  of  government  evi;r  since.  The 
construction  of  the  Canadian  Pacific  Hailway  is  the  crown- 
ing act  of  this  forceful  administration,  whose  chicif  is  un- 


iiiistdkHbly  tlio  stroiif^est  porsonulity  iii  the  Dominion  of 
Cfiimtlii. 

Do  not  tlios(5  fiu'ts  clearly  prove  the  ])()liti(*ul  clijinictor 
of  tlu^  inception  of  tln^  ('iinudiau  I'aeilic  Hallway  V 

And  now  1  turn  to  the  vaiions  forms  of  aid  tlu;  snh- 
ventions  and  larj^t'sses  bestowed  upon  the  ( 'aiiadian  Pa(dtic 
llailwuy  in  aid  of  its  constrnction,  which  also  ])rovo  the 
intense  political  chai'acter  of  tlu^  enterprise  from  its  intu^p- 
tion  until  its  completion.  TUv  follow! iiji;  statement  from 
my  rc^port  on  the  internal  commerce  of  the  United  States 
for  the  y(!ar  188 1,  as  an  ofHciU'  of  the  Natiomd  ( Jovernment, 
was  ]H'epar(;d  from  (hita  furnished  to  mc;  by  IMr,  Charles 
Drinkwator,  then  and  n<jw  secretary  of  your  Coni])any  : 

"  The  Dominion  {government  has  pjranted  to  the  Canadian 
Pacific  Railway,  in  aid  of  its  construction,  a  subsidy  of 
J!^25,000,00()  in  money  as  a  loan  ;  and  has  donated  to  it 
'25,000,000  acres  of  hmd,  embracintj;  only  hinds  tit  for  set- 
tlement ;  also  the*  ri^lit  of  way,  station  grounds,  dock 
privileges,  and  wat(!r  frontage,  in  so  far  as  the  same  are 
vested  in  the  Government.  Besides  this  the  Canadian 
government  is  to  construcit  and  transfer  to  the  company, 
fr(3e  of  cost,  714  miles  of  raihvay,  the  value  of  which  is 
estimated  at  about  >!!r{0,000,000.  The  com])any  is  also 
authorized  to  build  a  line  of  telegraph  along  the  entire 
railway,  which  under  its  charter  it  is  empowered  to  use 
for  commercial  as  well  as  railway  purposes.  The  privilege 
is  extended  to  the  com}»any  of  importing  free  of  duty  steel 
rails,  and  other  material  used  in  the  construction  of  its 
road  and  tc^legrapli  line.  It  is  also  empowered  to  build 
braiudi  lines,  with  right  of  way  and  <jther  privileges  granted 
by  tlie  Government. 

"  The  company  is,  besides,  protected  against  the  con- 
struction (^f  comp(iting  lines  for  a  term  of  twenty  years 
from  the  date  of  the  contract. 

"  The  stations,  buildings,  ecpiipments,  and  the  capital 
stock  of  the  comjiany  are  to  be  free  from  taxation  by  the 
Dominion  government,  or  by  any  province    established 


8 


after  tlit^  dntn  of  the  olmrtor,  for  all  tinio,  and  tlio  land 
^raut  within  tho  N(>rtliw«!st  Tcn'ritorics  is  also  dcclanMl  to 
1)()  fr('(!  tVoni  taxation  for  twonty  yearn  unksss  sold  in  tho 
nirantinif. 

"  Tho  capital  stock  of  tlu^  company  is  $1()0,00(),{)00, 
upon  whicli  the  nonunion  ^oviu-nnunit  has  j^narantcMul 
a  niininuun  dividend  of  H  per  c«nit.  per  annum  for  ten 
years,  tiu^  c()m])any  liavin<^  placiul  with  the  ^ovfU'nmimt 
a  sum  which  at  1  per  cent,  interest  will  be  e(|ual  to  tho 
divid<!nd  on  tlie  stock  at  3  per  cent,  for  ten  years." 

This  statement  was  furnished  to  me  for  my  official  pub- 
lication, and  the  facts  whicii  it  embraces  are  also  pul)li  died 
in  Canadian  official  rt>j)orts. 

TIk!  a(^tual  c(»st  of  the  714  miles  of  railway  presimted  to 
your  Company  as  a  fr(H!  j^ift  from  the  Dominion  <^overu- 
meiit  is  stated  in  your  report  for  1887  at  $;}r),000,000. 

The  land  subsidy  of  25,000,000  acres  at  $1.50  per  aero 
amounts  to  $37,500,000.  In  the  year  i88()  the  fi;overinnent 
took  back  0,71)3,01-4  acres  of  this  land  at  $1.50,  paying  for 
it  $10,180,521. 

Your  Company,  as  Ixjfore  stated,  was  by  its  charter  en- 
dowed with  extraordinary  franchises,  giving  it  a  practical 
monopoly  of  railroad  construction  west  of  Ontario.  But 
the  Province  of  Manitoba  revolted  at  this  provision,  and 
in  settling  the  difficulty  the  Dominion  government  guar- 
anteed the  interest  {it  3^  V^^'  t^ent.  on  boids  to  the  amount 
of  $15,000,000,  payable  in  fifty  3'ears.  These  bonds  pre- 
s(mted  the  attractiveness  of  investment  securities,  and,  as 
I  understand,  in  consequence  of  this  government  guaran- 
tee, became  readily  available  as  cash  in  your  trc^asury. 
This  was  simply  a  payment  made  to  you  for  the  relin- 
quishment of  a  ci^nparativoly  small  part  of  your  franchises, 
the  gift  of  the  Dominion  to  you,  and  as  stated  on  page  19 
of  your  annual  re^jort  dated  May  9^  1888,  it  furnished 
your  road  "  the  necessary  capital  required    for  permanent 


¥% 


9 


improvom<^nts,    additional  roUinpf-stoc^k,  and  facilitieH  of 
all  kiiiilK  for  its  rapidly  iiwrraHiii^  tralHc." 

In  tlit>  yt'ar  1<SSI  tiu!  Dominion  fj^ovornnu^nt  loaiuMl  to 
tho  (Canadian  I'acntic,  llailwi'v  Company  #'22,r)()(),00()  to 
cnal)i<)  it  to  «^xp(Hlit(i  tl»«>  construction  of  its  road. 

On  tlio  'Ust  of  DocenilM  1,  188(),  the  total  amount  of  tlio 
ori^'inal  subsidy  of  !?2r),()()(),000  had  been  paid  to  the  (Ca- 
nadian Pacific  llaihvay.  (Stio  Annual  llcport  of  Minister 
of  llailways  and  ( -anals,  p.  xii.) 

Your  report  submitted  in  1887  states  that  tin?  Dominion 
government  has  subsidi/cid  that  portion  of  your  liiui  ex- 
tending from  your  St.  Lawrence  llivor  Brid<fe  to  llatta- 
Avamkeo^,  Main(>,  a  ])oint  on  tluj  Penohscot  lliver,  at  the 
rate  of  $18(1,000  a  year.  I  know  of  nothinjj;  comparable 
to  this  in  the  United  States,  and  I  think  it  is  unicpie  tis  a 
metlnxl  of  preserving  the  carrying  trade  to  Canatla  and 
her  seaports. 

It  app(!ars  from  tht!  balanc(i  sheet  of  tlu;  dominion  of 
Canada  that  the  total  expenditun  by  the  government  on 
the  Canadian  Pacific  llaihvay  in  cash  to  the  'U)th  of  June, 
188(),  was  $()0,84r),727.04,  and  that  on  the  ;}Oth  of  June, 
1887,  it  was  $(il,7()0,78r).4;5.  I  think  I  am  simply  voicing 
a  fact  kn(jwn  to  every  intelligent  person  in  Caniida  when  I 
say  that  the  increase  of  the  i)ublic  debt  of  the  Dominion 
from  «il79,4;i3,871.21  in  1870  to  !<27;],i;]7,(>20.4a  in  1887 
was  incurred  maiid>'  through  the  extension  of  tinancial  aid 
to  the  Canadian  Pacific  liailway. 

To  be  able  to  stat(^  with  any  degree  of  precision  the 
exact  value  of  the  largesses  bestowed  by  the  Dominion 
government  upon  your  Company,  including  land  grant, 
wharfage  facilities,  remission  of  duties,  and  714  miles  of 
railroad  as  a  gift,  and  also  to  draw  nicely  the  distinction 
between  actual  or  viitual  gifts  of  money  and  loans,  would 
involve  full  powers  for  the  audit  of  all  your  accounts  and 


10 


ili 


the  appraisement  of  all  your  properties.  I  have  not 
thou<rlit  it  proper  for  me  to  attempt  to  go  beyond  the 
printed  official  statements  for  my  informatit)n.  From  these 
I  condudo  that  your  Comjiany  has  directly  and  indirectly 
realized  from  the  aids  all()rded  it  by  the  Dominion  govern- 
ment fully  the  cost  of  your  road  and  its  equipment,  plant, 
and  materials  and  supplies,  which  according  to  your  bal- 
ance sheet  for  December  31,  1887,  amounted  in  value  to 
$1(55,548,810.70.  Your  total  stock,  bonded  debt  and  cur- 
rent liabilities  on  the  same  day  amounted  to  only  $121,- 
01(J,021).41. 

There  is  nothing  in  the  history  of  the  world  which 
furnishes  a  parallel  to  this  subsidizing  of  a  private  corpor- 
ation by  a  government.  The  eleven  so-called  Pacitic  Bail- 
road  companies  of  the  United  States  received  grants  of 
land  of  which  there  has  been  patented  12,700,000  acres, 
and  four  of  these  companies  were  aided  by  loans  to  the 
total  amount  of  $()4,G23,512.G0,  which  is  to  be  repaid  to 
the  Government  with  intarest. 

The  asserted  object  of  the  agreement  of  the  18th  of 
April,  1888,  whereby  your  Company  received  aid  to  the 
amount  of  $15,000,000,  for  the  relinciuishment  of  a  part  of 
its  franchise  in  the  province  of  Manitoba,  was  "  to  preserve 
to  Canada  and  its  seaports  the  carrying  trade  for  tiduch  the 
Canadian  Pa(dfi<i  Railway  loas  designed  and  coif^tr acted''' 
The  United  Sbites  Government  has  never  passed  any  act, 
nor  appropriated  any  money,  to  p)  eserve  to  the  United  States 
and  its  smports  the  cai'rying  trade  for  which  any  parti calar 
railroad  has  been  designed  and  constructed  in  this  country. 
We  should  consider  it  too  narrow  a  policy  in  view  of  the 
inttirlacing  of  territory  formed  by  the  crooked  l)order  line 
between  Canada  and  the  Unitcnl  States.  Without  callii^g 
up  ccrporate  disagreements  in  which  you  liave  be»m  in- 
volved, I  think  your  Company  has  found  it  too  narrow  a 


11 


policy  to  siibsorve  tlio   commercial  interests   of  the  Do- 
minion. 

And  now  I  ])e<x,  yon  will  not  for  a  moment  think  tluit  the 
facts  jnst  mentioned  have  led  me  to  any  ven^i^eful  or  even 
unfriendly  feeliniijs  toward  the  people  of  Canada  or  their 
go"  ernment.  On  the  contrary,  I  shonhl  be  rather  grateful 
to  Canada  if,  following  the  exam[)](;  wliich  her  statt^smeu 
have  set,  the  United  Htatc^s  should  at  once  inaugurate  a 
policy  as  highly  promotive  of  our  own  interests  of  com- 
merce and  transportation  as  has  been  adopted  by  the 
Dominion  government  toward  Canadian  interest.  While 
it  is  impracticable  to  have  recourse  to  the  same  methods, 
it  is  clearly  evident  that  we  can  and  ought  to  adopt  meas- 
ures which  shall  [)revent  the  deflection  of  American  com- 
merce from  American  seaports  and  from  American  trans- 
portation lines  on  the  land  and  on  the  sea,  by  tlu^  shoer 
force  of  governnK.  val  subsidy. 

But  there  are  certain  other  matters  witli  which  your 
enterprise  is  more  or  less  closely  related,  which  liave  pro- 
duced a  degree  of  irritation  on  this  side  of  the  border  line. 
First  among  these  I  wouhl  mention  your  steamer  line  from 
Vancouver  to  China  and  Japan.  The  vessels  now  running 
there  are,  I  understand,  rather  anticpiated  ships,  ])ut  your 
last  annual  rejjort  spoke  of  a  grant  of  £()0,()J0  as  having 
been  concluded  by  her  Majesty's  Government  for  "  a  per- 
manent line  of  tirst-class  steamers  suitable  for  scrmce  as 
(tr tried  c misers  in  case  of  need,''''  I  am  not  informed  as  to 
the  progress  made  in  the  construction  of  these  ships.  This 
subsidy  of  SHOO, 000  as  against  our  [)ayment  of  only  Sl<),750 
hist  year  for  the  carriage  of  our  China  and  Japan  mails 
looks  to  us  very  much  like  a  premium  paid  l)y  a  foreign 
ijovernment  f<jr  tln^  defiecti^m  of  our  foreign  commerce 
from  our  own  seaports.  Tliere  is,  liowever,  a  feature  of 
your  Pacific  steamer  line  wliich  excites  our  special  wondei 


12 


—that  the  ships  provided  for  are  to  be  virtually  tmr  ships, 
as  are  all  the  fast  British  ships  now  plying  between  New 
York  and  Great  Britain,  with  armaments  conveniently 
stored  in  warehouses  at  the  docks  of  Liverpool  and  Lon- 
don. It  is  a  rebuke  to  our  national  pride  that  to-day  our 
foreign  commerce  is  actually  supporting  a  foreign  war 
navy  more  powerful  than  our  entire  naval  force.  I  want 
to  see  this  offset  by  a  policy  of  protective  discrimination 
in  favor  of  American  shipping  which  shall  surely  culminata 
in  its  restoration  to  the  proud  position  which  it  once  held 
upon  the  seas. 

Second.  The  formidable  fortress  and  naval  station  which 
the  Canadian  and  British  governments  have  erected  at 
Esipiimault,  on  Vancouver  Island,  within  sight  of  the 
shores  of  our  new-born  State  of  Washington,  is  regarded 
in  this  country  as  a  part  of  the  original  scheme,  "  com- 
mercial and  military,"  which  endjraced  the  Pacific  Railway, 
jind  was  devised  by  Canadian  and  British  statesmen  dur- 
ing our  civil  war.  I  believe  the  traffic  operations  of  the 
Canadian  Paciiic  Railway  were  inaugurated  by  the  carriage 
of  military  stores  and  munitions  of  war  to  this  fort.  The 
United  States,  whose  disposition  toward  Canada,  as  toward 
all  the  world,  is  always  pacific,  has  no  military  station 
within  a  thousand  miles  of  this  port.  There  is  another 
matter  connected  with  the  transportation  interests  of  the 
Dominion  wdiich  produces  constant  irritation  in  this  coun- 
try. I  refer  to  the  refusal  to  grant  to  our  lisliiug  vessels 
commercial  rights  in  Canadian  ports  and  the  right  to  ship 
their  cargoes  "  in  transit  "  free  of  duly  across  the  terri- 
ritory  of  the  Dominion,  as  Canadian  merchandise  to  the 
amount  of  $4(  (00,000  is  yearly  shipped  by  rail  across 
the  territory  the  Unitcsd  States  free  of  duty.'  I  would 
respond  at  onc(i  to  these  specitic  refusals  of  reciprocity  by 
restraints  upon  British  vessels  in  our  ports  and  by  restraints 


1 


13 


upon  tlie  frt^oiloin  of  Canadian  transit  across  our  territory. 
The  att(nnpt  of  the  Canadian  government  to  barter  sncli 
commercial  rij^lits  to  American  fisliin<j^  vessels  in  Canadian 
ports,  as  are  freely  enjoyed  1)}  all  British  vessels  in  our 
ports,  for  tl.(^  privilege  of  entering  fish  caught  by  C'anadi- 
ans  free  of  duty  in  our  ports  is  one  against  which,  as  an 
American  citizen,  I  most  indignantly  protest. 

The  transit  trade  from  one  part  of  the  United  States  to 
anothrn-  part  of  the  United  States  over  the  "  Soo  "  routes 
and  th(!  routes  across  the  upper  portion  of  Ontario,  and 
the  transit  trade  from  one  part  of  tlie  Dominion  to  another 
part  of  the  Dominion  across  the  State  of  Maine  stand  l)y 
themselves.  These  routes  are  composed  of  links  in  direct 
lines  of  transportation  and  embrace  within  themselves  the 
elements  of  reciprot^ity  and  of  mutual  interest ;  but  your 
line  west  of  Winnipeg  to  the  Pacific  is  in  no  sense  a  link 
in  a  direct  line  from  one  part  of  the  United  States  to 
another  part  of  the  United  States,  and  I  can  see  no  just 
reason  why  it  should  be  allowed  to  engage  in  the  business 
of  deflecting  our  internal  or  our  foreign  commerce  from 
American  vessc^ls,  American  seaports,  or  American  rail- 
roads, especially  in  view  of  the  fact  that  the  capital  with 
which  your  road  Avas  built  was  supplied  by  tlie  gift  or  the 
loan  of  the  credit  of  tlui  Dominion,  and  that  this  gives  you 
an  overwhelming  advantage  over  the  trans-continental 
railroads  of  the  United  States. 

Your  remark  to  the  eti'ect  that  the  "  American  lines,"  by 
which  I  presume  you  mean  our  transcontinental  lines,  are 
seeking  to  evade  the  enforcement  of  the  Interstate  Com- 
merce Act  is  evidently  the  result  of  misinformation.  These 
lines  are,  I  believe,  doing  their  best  to  conform  to  the  re- 
quirements of  that  act,  and  they  have  recently  formed  an 
Association  for  the  purpose  of  enabling  them  to  do  so, 

Referring  to  your  statement  that  the  Canadian  Pacific 
has  not  attacked  our  Pacific  lines,  I  am  afraid  the  facts  are 


14 


a<j;ii,inst  you.  I  ina(l(i  (lili<>(>iit  inquiry  into  this  matter 
jilxmt  a.  year  aoo.  AMicu  tlie  Aiiierican  transcontiiunital 
liiu^s,  on  tlie  'JTtli  of  April,  1887,  niado  a  75  cent  rate  on 
sii^ar  from  Han  Francisco  to  tlio  Missouri  river,  did  vou 
not  make  a  60  cent  rate  by  means  of  wliicli  you  carried 
suf^ar  from  San  Francisco  via  Victoria  and  Winnipe<^,  and 
thence  over  AnuH'ican  lines  to  Omaha,  St.  Jos(^pli,  and 
Kansas  City,  and  was  not  this  what  is  commonly  known 
as  "  railroad  war  ?"  I  could  submit  to  you  several  other 
similar  inquiries.  But  are  you  not  now  woikin«jj  under 
"  differential  rates "  in  order  to  enable  you  to  secure  a 
share  of  our  "  States  to  States  "  traffic  ?  Again,  Iiom-  is  it 
that  about  80  per  cent,  of  our  exports  of  cotton  goods 
from  the  New  England  States  to  China  and  Japan  are 
going  by  the  way  of  the  Canadian  Pacific  Eailway  and 
your  steamer  line  from  Vancouver  ?  At  this  distance  it 
looks  very  like  the  result  of  a  "  cut  rate,"  /.  e.,  a  "  war  rate." 
A  few  months  after  the  opening  of  the  Canadian  Pacific, 
the  Chief  Engineer  and  General  Manager  of  the  Govern- 
ment Piailways  of  Canada  said  exultingly  in  a  report  dated 
Dec.  20, 1887  :  "  Already  notes  of  alarm  have  been  sounded 
by  the  American  press  at  tlie  manner  in  Avhich  the  Cana- 
dian Pacific  Piailway  is  cutting  into  the  business  of  the 
transcontinental  roads  of  the  United  States."  But  all  this 
gives  us  no  new  surprise,  for  from  the  very  beginning 
the  projectors  and  promoters  of  that  enterprise,  in  mak- 
ing commercial  survey  of  this  country  from  the  Atlantic 
to  the  Pacific,  were  in  the  habit  of  using  expressions  which 
seemed  to  say  :  "  Moab  is  my  washpot,  over  Edom  will  I 
cast  out  my  shoe." 

In  a  pamphlet  mailed  to  you  to-day  I  have  recounted 
unfriendly  and  illiberal  acts  of  the  Canadian  government 
toward  citizens  of  the  United  States,  embracing  two  viola- 
tions of  agreement  and  a  refusal  to  reciprocate  even  in  a 
matter  of  common  humanity.   From  some  of  these  acts  the 


15 


Canadian  ^ov€>rnineiit,  (luriii<>-  tlu>-  past  year,  has  dccnuul  it 
expo(li(uit  to  reoodo. 

As  stated  at  tiu;  ber^iiiiinnp;,  my  public  coiiimeiits  upon 
the  Canadian  Pacific  llailway  and  its  nianafijenient  have 
been  incidental  to  considerations  of  a  political  character. 
This  I  have  attempted  to  explain  to  you.  In  the  exercise 
•  of  your  adininistrativf^  and  ministerial  duties  you  cannot 
of  course  be  supposed  to  pay  much  attention  to  such  con- 
siderations. As  a  railroad  executive,  you  naturally  make 
the  best  possible  use  of  all  the  opportunities  presented  to 
you,  as  V)usiness  men  are  doing  everywhere. 

I  fear  your  feelings  are  touched  by  an  impression  that 
I  have  cast  some  reflection  upon  the  credit  of  your  road. 
Not  at  all.  Your  balance  sheet  certainly  makes  an  excel- 
lent showing,  and  I  have  two  good  reasons  in  mind 
why  it  should ;  one,  that  your  Company  has  been  so 
highly  endowed  by  the  Dominion  government ;  and  the 
other,  tliat  your  road  is  ably  managed.  Mr.  Olds,  your 
traffic  manager,  is  tie  only  gentleman  connected  with  your 
Company  whom  I  know  personally.  I  think  the  niilroad 
managers  on  this  side  of  the  line  regard  him  as  "  a  foenian 
w^orthy  of  their  steel." 

And  now,  my  dear  sir,  I  think  I  have  pretty  fairly  re- 
deemed my  pledge  to  disclose  to  you  my  facts  and  my 
motives  in  the  discussion  of  the  Canadian  Pacific  Railway 
question.  I  acknoAvledgi^  my  indebtedness  to  your  Secre- 
tary, Mr.  Drinkwater,  and  to  your  Traffic  Manager,  Mr. 
Olds,  for  valuable  information  and  courteous  treatment  in 
years  past,  and  desire  to  thank  you  for  the  complimentary 
terms  in  which  you  have  been  pleased  to  refer  to  me  per- 
sonally. 

I  am,  sir,  with  great  respect. 

Very  truly  yours, 

JOSEPH  NIMMO,  Jr. 


